Battle of Holy Ground was a Early Republic and War of 1812 engagement fought in Alabama, 1813. The outcome was inconclusive.
On December 23, 1813, United States militia clashed with Red Stick Creek Indians at Econochaca, a name meaning holy ground in Creek, in what became known as the Battle of Holy Ground during the Creek War. This encampment stood on a bluff above the Alabama River, in an area now recognized as Lowndes County, Alabama, and had been fortified by Josiah Francis earlier that summer. It represented just one of three such strongholds built by Red Stick Creeks during that season. Beyond its physical forti
On December 23, 1813, United States militia clashed with Red Stick Creek Indians at Econochaca, a name meaning holy ground in Creek, in what became known as the Battle of Holy Ground during the Creek War. This encampment stood on a bluff above the Alabama River, in an area now recognized as Lowndes County, Alabama, and had been fortified by Josiah Francis earlier that summer. It represented just one of three such strongholds built by Red Stick Creeks during that season. Beyond its physical fortifications, the site had been consecrated by Creek prophets, who performed ceremonies meant to erect a spiritual shield around the encampment. This sacred purpose gave rise to the name Econochaca, which carries a loose meaning of holy ground, though its more accurate rendering is sacred or beloved ground.
After the clash at Burnt Corn and the massacre that followed at Fort Mims, General Ferdinand Claiborne received orders from General Thomas Flournoy to gather men for a strike against the Red Stick Creeks. By the start of December he had pulled together nearly 1,000 fighters, among them 150 Choctaw warriors led by Pushmataha. Opposing them stood roughly 320 Creeks loyal to William Weatherford. Claiborne marched his assembled force out of Fort Claiborne on December 13, bound for Holy Ground. Nine days later, on December 22, 1813, his troops pitched camp some ten miles south of Econochaca. Word of their approach reached Weatherford's Creeks, prompting them to move the women and children out of the settlement to safety. The following day, December 23, Claiborne's men stormed the fortifications, cutting down somewhere between 20 and 30 Red Stick fighters while suffering only a single loss of their own. The bulk of the Creek defenders managed to flee the scene, Weatherford among them, famously spurring his horse Arrow off a bluff and into the river below as gunfire rained around him. Afterward, the American troops set fire to the village and wiped out the Creek stores kept there.
Today the grounds where the fighting took place form Holy Ground Battlefield Park, kept up by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The site earned a place on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on May 26, 1976.
The heritage of the old 3rd Infantry Regiment, which had troops present at Econochaca, lives on today through two active Regular Army battalions, 1-1 Infantry and 2-1 Infantry.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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